[Member Introduction] Blend Research Ideathon - 2nd Term Guardians

There is only one week left until the application deadline for the 2nd term of the Blend Research Ideathon.
The Blend Research Ideathon involves professors who are genuinely committed to engaging with the participants' research, transcending fields and positions. Their respective expertise and perspectives will surely help deepen the participants' research.
Prior to the event, we would like to introduce these fascinating guests ahead of time!

What is the Blend Research Ideathon?

The Blend Research Ideathon is an interactive online program where participants, joining as crew members,starting from the research issues identified by the participants themselves, exchange unfinished and fluid ideas to deepen their research concepts together with others.

It aims to return to the very "questions" of research andpurpose to redesign research from the perspective of Gendered Innovations together with peers.

Introduction to the 2nd Term Guardians

We welcome as "Guardians" the professors who will watch over and support the journey of the Blend Research Ideathon, providing advice from their respective fields of expertise to help deepen and develop the participants' research.
In addition to Professor Sayaka Oki, Professor Narie Sasaki, and Professor Soto Tsuruta, who served as guest advisors for the 1st term, we are pleased to welcome Professor Bo-Kyung Son from the 2nd term, further enriching our program structure.

Professor Sayaka OKI

Professor, Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo / Director, Division of Research, Center for Diversity and Inclusion

Message of Support
Gendered Innovations (GI) is an attempt to improve research by increasing the resolution regarding gender and sex (biological sex). Past research has tended to either confuse gender and sex too much or overly ignore sex (for example, not being conscious of sex chromosomes in stem cells). It has been ten years since GI spread from Europe and North America. With more young people from a generation that has advanced gender equality participating in GI, even richer contributions can be expected. I wholeheartedly support your challenge.

Professor Narie SASAKI

Professor, DEI Promotion Center, Tohoku University; Professor/Special Advisor to the President (in charge of Gendered Innovations), Headquarters for Diversity Strategy, Yokohama National University

Message of Support
When I was a student, I was taught that "females have estrous cycles and their data is prone to fluctuation, so it is better to use males for research," and I had absolutely no doubts about using only males in my experiments. However, it was only after encountering the concept of "Gendered Innovations" that I realized this was causing a major bias in our knowledge and technology. To create high-quality science and technology that ensures fairness, it is essential to incorporate sex-based analysis from both sex and gender perspectives into the design of research and development. Recently, diversity has been emphasized even more by adding intersectional analysis that simultaneously considers gender identity, age, disability, race, and economic status. "Gendered Innovations" can be applied to a wide range of scientific and technological fields, including natural sciences, medicine, engineering, and environmental studies. Please learn how to incorporate sex-based and intersectional analysis into your own research and development, and lead it to new discoveries.

Professor Soto TSURUTA

Assistant Professor, DEI Promotion Center, Tohoku University; Visiting Researcher, Institute for Gendered Innovations, Ochanomizu University; Invited Faculty, Center for Science, Technology and Innovation Governance, Osaka University

Message of Support
Gendered Innovations is now also called "Intersectional Innovation," and it has developed into a project that re-examines the fairness and sustainability of science and technology from various perspectives, not limited to sex and gender, but also including race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and place of residence. None of us are unrelated to the benefits and risks brought about by science and technology. That is precisely why their unfair aspects must be reviewed, and I believe that is also the responsibility of scientists and engineers. I hope that through Blend's activities, not only will researchers learn this concept, but that this awareness will be widely shared in Japan. I wholeheartedly support your activities.

Professor Bo-Kyung SON

Associate Professor, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, The University of Tokyo

Message of Support
In recent years, there has been a strong demand to appropriately consider the perspectives of "sex and gender" when designing research, and it can be said that we have truly entered the era of "Gendered Innovations"."
However, in the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) fields, gender-sensitive research involves complexities that cannot be fully captured by conventional quantitative approaches alone, making it a significant challenge for students and researchers.
In such a situation, I am convinced that having the opportunity to rethink one's research design and the interpretation of results from multiple perspectives while engaging in repeated discussions with peers is extremely meaningful, and will lead to objective evaluations and new insights.
I have high expectations for your enthusiastic activities. I also look forward to discussing these topics with you.

We have delivered messages of support from four professors so far.
The Guardian professors not only sympathize with the activities of Blend, but above all, they are looking forward to the time they will spend with the crew members they will meet soon.
The Blend Research Ideathon offers time to meet such Guardians and deepen your own inquiries through dialogue.

Why don't you join the journey of practicing Gendered Innovations as a crew member?
Let's re-examine the connection between your research and society, and grow your inquiries together as peers who support fair science and technology.

The capacity for the 2nd term of the Blend Research Ideathon has been increased!

Applications for the 2nd term of the Blend Research Ideathon will close soon on July 31.
As of July 24, we reached our capacity of 10 people, but due to the high level of interest, we have added 5 more spots!

We sincerely look forward to your participation!